1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an imaging device that allows for recording of audio and images and a playback device that allows for the playback of audio and images. In particular, the invention relates to an imaging device that will record audio and a playback device that will process the audio output on the basis of the state of the imaging device at the time of shooting and on the basis of images captured through shooting.
2. Description of Related Art
At present, video cameras are widely available as imaging devices allowing for the recording of both images and audio. Such video cameras are equipped with a display part that has a monitor to display the shooting area (subject) that the imaging part of the video camera captures. The operator establishes the composition and controls focus, for example, while confirming the shooting area through the monitor on this display part.
Typically, the direction in which the monitor displays the image is on the side of the operator, that is to say, the side that is opposite the shooting direction (subject side). However, in recent years, many video cameras have appeared that make it possible for a operator to shoot himself or herself, in other words, to take a so-called “self-shooting,” while confirming the shooting area displayed on the monitor by rotating the display part and positioning the display direction of the monitor in the same direction as the shooting direction. It is assumed that when a self-shooting is taken, the operator wants to shoot a video centered on himself or herself, or multiple persons including himself or herself and it is desirable that collection of audio be performed emphasizing sound in the shooting direction.
For example, in cameras outfitted with a microphone (hereinafter, referred to as mic) in the display part, the method has been proposed of controlling fluctuations in sound that is recorded corresponding to the direction of the mic at the time of shooting through weighting of the audio that the mic has collected according to the mic direction (either the shooting direction or the opposite direction).
In the case of taking a self-shooting, various shooting methods can be used, such as, for example, a method of shooting by affixing a video camera to a tripod or a method of shooting in which the operator holds the video camera and faces the imaging part toward himself or herself. In other words, the condition of the subject (operator) with respect to the video camera (for example, the distance between the video camera and the subject) can be varied. However, with the above-noted methods, weighting according only to the direction of the mic is performed on the audio that the mic has collected. For that reason, depending on the condition of the subject with respect to the video camera, when a self-shooting is taken, there may be cases in which audio in keeping with the operator's intentions cannot be obtained.
Additionally, a method has been proposed in which, for example, recording of audio in keeping with the intentions of the operator is performed by changing the directionality of the mic on the basis of the size of specified items that are included in the shooting area and engaging in audio processing such as enhancing a particular frequency band of the audio collected.
With this method, it is possible to correct the audio that the mic has collected according to the size of the subject included in the shooting area and according to the zoom factor. However, in this method, the same audio processing is performed regardless of whether it is a self-shooting or whether it is an ordinary shooting. For that reason, there may be instances in which audio in keeping with operator's intentions cannot be obtained when a self-shooting is taken.